1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cancer biology. More particularly, it concerns monoclonal antibodies targeting EpCAM antigen.
2. Description of Related Art
Dual-nuclear and fluorescently labeled or singly fluorescently labeled contrast agents promise the advantage of molecularly-guided surgical resection via surgical field near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging following (in the case of dual labeled agents) nuclear imaging for general localization. Currently, nodal staging of most cancers is performed following lymph node (LN) biopsy and dissection for subsequent pathological examination. As in most cancers, imaging of LN involvement in prostate cancer (PCa) lacks sensitivity and specificity (Shukla-Dave et al., 2007) and as a result, (extended) pelvic LN dissection (PLND), which provides higher staging accuracy (Berney et al., 2011), is rapidly becoming the standard-of-care at the time of radical prostatectomy. Yet with early detection of PCa enabled by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, a substantial and growing population of PCa patients may be overtreated (Daskivich et al., 2011) and encounter the resultant morbidity of lower extremity lymphedema (Pilepich et al, 1984; Musch et al., 2008; Cormier et al., 2010). A multimodal contrast agent is needed to provide accurate, non-invasive LN staging of PCa and to guide surgical resection of cancer-positive LNs, while sparing resection of cancer-negative LNs and potentially reducing surgical morbidity and improving survivorship.
In addition, surgical resection of epithelial cancers in body areas with critical areas, such as retroperitoneal or head and neck cancers require resection of tissues with clear margins free of cancer. Cancer positive margins, detected in surgical pathology from resected tissues, require surgeons to excise additional tissues, often times involving critical structures which compromise quality of life. Yet there is no indication within the field of surgical view, which structures are cancer positive and which are not. Because cancer survivorship critically depends upon reducing residual tumor burden by removal ALL cancerous tissues, it is critical that there is a means to direct surgical resection of cancerous tissues while sparing normal tissues, that may involve critical body structures.